Girly stuff in a boy's world

I'm living in a testosterone world today. Actually, with a husband and four sons, that's every day...but today more than most. As just about any teenaged boy in America could tell you, today was the day that "Halo 3" was released. My son Nick has been anticipating this for almost a year. I reserved a copy for him back in November. We've had a countdown clock on my desktop, and all I have been hearing is "you won't forget to pick it up, will you"? I went to get it after work. Geesh, the thing came in this huge box with a lifesize replica of "Master Chief's" helmet.

Nicky has liked Halo from day one, and even dressed up as Master Chief for Halloween a few years back. That was an interesting costume to make! (We left out the helmet, thank goodness. I'm not that talented, LOL!)

So, anyway, I needed a touch of girliness today and worked on one of my 17,000 projects. Here is a shot of the collar of a little pair of PJs I'm making...

Garage Sale Bonanza

Wow, did I get lucky with garage sales today! They've been pretty paltry around here this past summer. But today...I must have found eight... plus a church sale! Church sales are the best!

Here is my take:

Plastic snowman snack tray

Christmas basket lined with pretty fabric

A pretty tin that probably once held cookies

A real, but broken, cell phone for the kids at work to play with--and it was only 50 cents. I'll have to write 'toy' on it, or people will think someone dropped it, LOL!

Large metal bunny and egg wreath for next Easter

A humongous oval tray with a Thanksgiving turkey on it--it's plastic but hey, it cost me 15 cents

A pretty gold wire Christmas basket (same garage sale as the turkey platter--for a nickel!)

A big bag of foamie dragonflies and butterflies for crafting

A little stuffed black Halloween kitty cat

A Halloween puppy and a Halloween kitten dressed in pumpkin costumes...all knit!

One of those magic hanger things that let's you hang 5 items in a small space

A 3-ring binder photo album, still in original wrap

A roll of green velvety ribbon

Some little cars for the kids at work

A pasta drying rack

A really nice metal folding table

A meat fork with a red plastic handle

A black Kitchenaid spatula (I dropped my red one without knowing it and my ferrets used it as a chew toy)

And the best thing of all:

A French Tea Set in it's own little cute carrying case. I almost didn't ask the price because I was sure it would be out of my range. I couldn't believe it when the girl said $2!!!

And the original price tag was still on it...for $74!!!!!! The little cardboard things are menus, and the napkins are cloth!

So, what did this great bonanza cost me? Well...I had 11 single dollars when I left home this morning, and came back with 2. Allowing for some quarters, I probably spent less than $12!

Yep, I'm feelin' pretty happy now!

17,000 WIPS

Well, not really. More like 17. I realized I had a lot of things that need to be worked on, and maybe even finished. But, like bills that need to be paid but are forgotten if you don't keep them in one place, I would see my projects in a sort of peripheral vision...kind of floating vaguely in my mind. Do you know what I mean? You're aware that things need to be done, but nothing in particular comes into focus.

So yesterday I made lists of what I need to finish. Putting things in lists helps my poor left brain wrap around what needs to be done. That's so my right brain can get to having fun! And trust me, I'm so right-brain dominant I could live with half my mind, LOL!

I've posted about "My Ta-Da Lists" before. I love that site. I used it to make my list yesterday. Actually, at least 17 lists...one for each project. So, for instance, under "Lavendar PJs," I listed each individual step needed to finish them.

With a list that is broken down into the smallest parts, you suddenly realize there are a lot of things that can be done and gotten out of the way rather quickly. I had already handsewn the zipper in (it's a baby sleeper), so it was just a matter of sewing it in for real. Took just a few minutes...a job that's been hanging in my closet for weeks.

I have a friend who refuses to start a new project unless an old one is finished. What is the fun of that????

BTW...all the tests from my procedure came out benign. They were looking for some virus with a weird name...something pilosis? Well, I don't have it. What I do have is the damned hiatal hernia. So I'd appreciate any info on dealing with that, because it's really, really not fun. Thanks!

Sew Crafty Friday: Knitting

I'm sorry this picture isn't more clear.

I'm not much of a knitter, but when Becka sent me the softest yarn ever in my ShoeBox Swap Box http://sortafrugal.blogspot.com/, I decided to break out the knitting needles to make myself a scarf.

I don't know if you can see the change in stitching a few rows up. It's been so long since I did anything that I don't know what the different patterns are called. Stockinette? Garter? But it was such a pain in the dupa to switch from purling to knitting every row that I decided to just stick with knitting. When I get closer to the end, I'll suffer through a few rows of purling/knitting so it matches. I'm making this short, because I don't like long scarves, anyway. It's going pretty fast, since it's also narrow.

The only thing that I don't like is that the knitting needles are too long and hit the sides of my chair...so I have to sit in the middle of the couch. Do they make short knitting needles?

Please visit "Waiting for Him" (over there in my blog links list) for more crafty yumminess. Better yet, would it kill you to post over there? Come on, we all want to see how creative you are! (Yeah, I'm pushy. And I'm selfish, too--I love to drool over other people's creativity!)

Oh, the indignity!

I mean, really...being a Pineapple or a Prisoner was bad enough...but a lobster? Poor Shadow!



http://sortafrugal.blogspot.com/2006/09/pineapple-puppy.html
http://sortafrugal.blogspot.com/2006/11/halloween-puppy.html

Seriously, though, this dog loves to dress up. Whenever we bring home a new article of clothing for him, he gets really excited. His tail wags so much you can hardly see it. I think he loves the extra attention...as if he doesn't get enough already!

I'm back!

I'm back! They took me in almost right away. I tell you, anesthetic is weird. You feel all ditzy at first then BOOM, your are out like a light. Next thing you know, you are in recovery. I can remember talking to Mike but I don't really know what I was saying.

Okay, so this is what Dr. G found. I have a lot of irritation in my stomach, and he's pretty sure that's caused by the aspirin I take on a regular basis because of my bad sacroiliac joint. So damn, no more aspirin for my back. He suggested I talk to my doctor about going on Celebrex. I have a hiatal hernia. He found a polyp that he removed. He also took some samples to do biopsies, which I'll hear about in a few weeks.

I knew damned well the aspirin, even coated aspirin, was causing me trouble. It sure would be nice if they made meds with no side effects! Especially OTC stuff! I mean, really, these days they say even Tylenol can cause liver damage.

My throat is so sore and my mouth is dry as the dessert. They gave me some gingerale. It didn't help much. Now I'm trying to eat half a sandwich and drinking grape soda. I'm having a hard time choking the sandwich down. The funny thing is that I'm really not hungry at all, so I Gave half to my son and some of my half to the dog. And I thought I'd be starving after fasting since midnight!

So, Dr. G did find something. And my hopes that it was nothing terribly serious seem to have been heard. I'm not even going to think of the biopsy thing. Why borrow trouble? I'm sure it's just routine.

I can't drive today and I can't drink. Gee, shucks, I guess I can't drive over to the liquor store!

BTW, we're having pizza for dinner. I'm going to spend this day relaxing. What a great excuse to do my crafts and veg in front of the computer!

Thanks for thinking about me this morning!

Endiscopy today

I'm going in for my endiscopy in about an hour. I hope they find something...at least, something that's fixable. Nobody wants to hear bad news. But I especially don't want to hear, "we can't see anything. Now you have to do this..."

I hate these damned tests. The worst part to me is fasting. I'm one of those types who has to eat every few hours.

I would have been allowed clear liquids up to 4 hours before the procedure, but I scheduled it for the morning so that would have meant having soup or Italian ice prior to 6:30 a.m., LOL! I stayed up late last night so I could eat something just before midnight, so I didn't wake up until about 9 a.m. Frankly, if my back wasn't killing me I wouldn't be doing too bad. I'm starting to feel a little hungry, but I can deal with it at this point.

In case you don't know, an endiscopy is when they stick a tube down your throat with a camera at the end and look inside your stomach. You have to be asleep for it, which is why I'm fasting. My husband will be driving me.

I will post later on about what the doctor found. For the record, he's the one who found tears in my stomach that were making me deathly ill about 3 years ago...when 2 other doctors and the hospital found nothing. So I really trust him to get to the bottom of this.

I Love Free

A few days before we left for Ohio last month, we were driving around the neighborhood and spotted this desk and etagere on the roadside. Both in perfect condition! Happily, we had my Escape. I had Mike and Nicky lug these into the back of the truck.
The desk is in perfect condition (for the record, the chair comes from my dining room). Mike set it up in the living room for me. So far I've used it to finish some scrapbooking pages. I hope to eventually be inspired enough to do some writing.
I used to have my fabric in boxes in the closet. I had the boxes numbered, and references pages in my family binder so I knew where to find things. Now everything is out in the open where I can see it.
It amazes me what people throw away!
What's the best 'roadside find' you ever came across?

Z is for Zealous

As in, too zealous. Did I really need to start yet another project with so many others in the works? But I was up in the attic today, getting out some fall things, and found this Vermont Teddy Bear up there. And I just got the idea in my head that she needed some clothes. I think a lot of us creative people might be zealous like this...forty WIPs and we get a new idea we just 'have to' start!

So here's the start of her outfit. It's going to have a full skirt and a petticoat...and maybe bloomers if I can figure them out.

To make the pattern, I used exam-table paper left over from the doctor's office where I work. Don't worry, nobody with the flu sat on this...it's the tail end of the roll that isn't long enough to use. I collect these for my pattern altering, tracing and creating. I fitted a piece over Teddy's front and then another over her back. It took some fudging, but I got it right. Actually, the front was too wide for some reason. So I put a pleat there and will sew some little buttons down the front. (She isn't going to be meant for a young child.)

I keep calling her 'she,' but she was wearing a toolbelt so I think it was a boy at first. Then again, she could have been a tool belt diva! Now she wants to retire to a quiet life of lovely clothes and tea with friends.

Oh, and the frugal aspect of this post, since I sometimes remember the blog is called "Sorta Frugal": I paid $3 for her! Can you believe that, for a Vermont Teddy Bear?????? And her outfit will be made with fabric on hand!

Sew Crafty Friday

Here is a pencil roll I made. The yellow fabric has little flowers on it. It's part of the stash I got from my mother's house. I had cut a bodice for a child's jumper out of it, and only had a smallish piece left. The outside is the same yellow fabric, and it has batting inside to make it cushy. I like the red fabric with the gumdrop trees, but have to laugh because 3 of the turtles are upside down. Sure, it's made to go in either direction, but if I'd paid attention I'd have made more turtles upright, LOL!

See how straight the lines for each pencil pocket are? I have to admit cheating...or maybe being resourceful. There was a very small pinstripe throughout the fabric that turned out to be exactly the right distance apart for a pencil!

I have just one more step in that I have to put a ribbon on it for tying it shut. I didn't happen to have the right color ribbon.

Please visit "Waiting for Him" (check my blog links list) for more great crafts--and why don't you show off something of your own, while you're at it?

Y is for Young

I'm still young, right? I mean, despite the arthritis, chronic back pain, ulcer, periomenopause, etc. etc. etc., fifty-one isn't old, is it?

I guess I have to admit to middle age. When we hit 40, my oldest and dearest friend said, "I am NOT middle aged." I used to say, "the middle of what?"

Well, 51 is the middle of 102. So there's no denying it.

It is said kids born these days could easily live to be 125 years old. That's not for me, unless I had the health and mental faculties to enjoy that many years. I don't want to be 90 and confined to a bed with Depends on.

Tuesday morning, I go in for an endiscopy for abdominal pain. It's one of those things were I had a twinge once in a while for a long time, and just chalked it off as typical aches and pains. But in the last month or so, it's almost constant. I don't feel sick at all (to me, sick means you can't eat or you have a headache), it just annoys me. My doc thinks it might be another ulcer, but we're checking. Whatever it is, I hope they fix it.

Then the next step is to see a pain management specialist about my back. What I have is called "Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction." That joint is where the base of your spine (the triangular-shaped bone) meets your pelvic bone. It hurts me almost all the time. Thank God most days it's only on about a level 2 or 3, but once in a while it hits a good 11. I have done everything for this--therapy, meds, shots, even a chiropractor. It has just become part of my life. I'm hoping the specialist will teach me some new 'tricks' to deal with it.

Oh, gripe, gripe, gripe. I really am generally a happy person. I learn something new every day and find beauty in a lot of things. I've gotten into a lot of blogs because I love to oooo and aaaah over the creativity out there, the beautiful babies and children, the generosity.

I just want to oooh and aaaah as if I really were still 31 instead of 51, LOL!

x is for...

xtra tired? Aren' t we all? I think it comes with the territory when you're a mom, no matter how old you are. I seem to take a nap every afternoon to recharge.

I can't think of anything for X! Haven't seen any x-rated movies lately to review--I'm just kidding!

Did you know there is no country in the world that begins with the letter X? If I had a country, I'd name in Xorange...so there'd be an 'X' country and something that rhymes with the word orange.

Sorry this is such a boring post today. Hope everyone out there is doing well!

W is for where we were

It's amazing how we can all remember where we were at watershed moments in history. I was in the second grade when Kennedy was assassinated, and I remember the principal coming over the loudspeaker to tell us. I also remember walking home with my best friend, and how she was crying. I didn't understand what was happening.

For 9/11, I was at home. I had just gotten up and took a look at the TV, where they were playing the film of the first crash...over and over. My first thought was some idiot pilot didn't know what he was doing.
Well, by the second crash, of course, I'm sure we all knew we weren't dealing with idiots. Narrow-minded monsters, but not idiots.
My husband was out on business, which sometimes takes him to the city. First thing was to check where he was--he happened to be on the East End of Long Island that day. Then I checked in with my then-agent, who lives in the city. She was okay.

Nicky came home early from school. He didn't know why he'd been dismissed so I explained it to him. I guess he was about 10 at the time. It shows how different things are--back in 1963, the principal thought nothing of telling grammar school kids the president had been killed. Nowadays, they leave it to the parents--which I think is the right way to do it.

Later, I took Katherine and went to the grocery. The biggest thing we noticed was that the skies were so quiet. There are usually a lot of planes. The only ones we saw were 3 airforce jets flying in formation. That scared Katherine, but I said they were there for our safety.

I'm grateful I didn't lose anyone in any of the horrible incidents. This past summer, I visited the site where the airplane went down in Pennsylvania. They have a printed copy of the exchange that went on. It's terrifying to read. What made me so angry was to see the terrorists saying things like "Allah is good, Allah is merciful." No matter what you want to call God, it is an insult to Him to call Him good and merciful while you are committing the ultimate sin of murder. (Well, as much as God can be insulted, since no one can know His mind.)

The only thing we can hope is that those who died that day, died so quickly they didn't feel anything. I don't even really think we can imagine the fear.

Two small things I remember from that day: a neighborhood kid driving around with his sunroof open, while another kid waved a huge America flag above the car.

And a visit from a strange cat. It was a big, puffy thing like a persian. I was sitting on my front steps and he came up and started rubbing against me. He was all matted and his nails were too long. I got out my pet brush and clippers and groomed him. It was something else to think about instead of the horrors of the day. He stayed for a while, then went on his way. The strange thing is that I never saw him before that...and never saw him again.

God bless everyone we lost that day, and all the people who did their best to help put this country back together again.

V is for...

...very favorites.

Very favorite author: Stephen King. No one can scare you like he does, but a lot of his non-scary stuff is the best writing I've ever come across. "IT," while terrifying, is one of the finest depictions of childhood ever written. The characters in "The Stand" (which I've read at least 8 times) are so real I feel I know them.

Very favorite food: lobster. Boiled and then dipped in melted butter. Too bad it's so darned expensive that I only get it once or twice a year.

Very favorite colors: red, purple and blue.

Very favorite flowers: red roses and purple tulips

Very favorite music: most Broadway stuff and the old standards...Ella rules!

Very favorite pastime: if I had to pick one, I'd put doing word puzzles at the top of the list.

U is for...

Unbelievable! That's how I describe the lovely box that Rebecca sent me as part of the "Shoebox Swap." Here's her blog: http://www.zeahrenaissance.blogspot.com/

And here are my goodies:

Becka had everything wrapped in pretty colors of tissue paper, with a note on each one explaining how it related to the box's theme..."Refreshed." What could be more refreshing than listening to Frankie, sipping Swiss Mocha coffee and either crocheting with the softest yarn ever, or reading a copy of "Cottage Living"?

See, I don't live in a cottage...yet. I live in a high ranch with my four kids and my daughter's boyfriend and various pets. But Mike and I want a little bungalow when we retire, and Becka said I could read the mag and dream of my 'future retirement cottage.'

I also received the cutest Mary Englebreit notecards, a cute mousepad, a delicious smelling candle and an even more delicious smelling roomspray. Hey, Becka...I love the roomspray because it doesn't make me choke like other sprays. It's so light and delicate!

And I confess...I broke out the knitting needles and decided to knit myself a scarf instead of doing crochet. I've been wanting to try my hand at knitting, something I haven't done in ages, and you've inspired me. And...the color of the yarn is a great match for a coat I'm making. Maybe now I'll get off my lazy duff and actually hem the thing...which I started 2 years ago!

The lovely and sweet bloggers who started this fun swap are:

Monica, at http://thehomespunheart.blogspot.com/

And Carrie at http://www.watibg.blogspot.com/

Thanks ladies, it was so much fun. And many, many thanks to you, Rebecca! Hugs and Kisses, too!

T is for...

http://sortafrugal.blogspot.com/2007/06/when-my-son-is-bored-at-work.html

My Third Son. I had to figure out where to put him in here, LOL! James will be 21 on November 1st. That will make him my 3rd adult child. He's in his junior year at college and is studying automotive engineering. I hope that it will give him opportunity to create things with his hands, because he's really good at that.

When Jamie (as we call him) was 7 1/2, he was riding his bike one day and got hit by a car. The bike went one way and landed on the soft grass. My son went the other way and landed on the street. What followed were some of the worst times of our lives. He had a skull fracture, dislocated elbow, dislocated shoulder and broken femur bone. He was in a coma for a few days. We knew from the emergency room he would live, but the femur bone had him in traction for the next six weeks. In the beginning, the damage to his brain (a very bad contusion) kept him in la-la land for a long time. There was talk of possible seizure disorder and personality problems. One doctor said I might have to take him to Delaware for therapy...me, with a 3 year old, a 9 year old and an 11 year old!

But little by little he got better. I kept a journal about his hospital stay. People were so generous, sending him gifts and food. He was the star patient in pediatrics and got special attention...especially when it came to using their Nintendo. By the time he left the hospital...in a body cast, btw...he was completely normal mentally. The kid even learned to walk up and down stairs in his cast!

Once that came off, two months later, he went to physical therapy. The therapist was amazed at his fast progress. My incentive to him was that he could go trick-or-treating if he could make himself strong enough to walk. And he did!

I think sometimes James has doubts about where he's going with his life. But after what he went through, I know he can do anything!

Oh, and btw...there was a lawsuit that's now paying for my son's education at a university!

Sew Crafty Friday

Here is yet another baby dress I made. Since I found my buttonholer, I have been able to finish a few things. The way this is hanging, you can't really tell the shape of the dress, but you can see it from the back view. It's all one piece .

I'm not crazy about the bonnet. I didn't use stiff enough interfacing in the brim and it's too floppy. I cut it out the size to match the dress, but it looks humongous to me.
There's no baby in mind for this just yet. There are matching bloomers, but I have to wait to see what size the elastic will be to finish them off.

The fabric has tiny red roses on it. The lining is white muslin. This was a very easy pattern to sew! It is McCall's 5353.

Please visit "Waiting for Him" and share your own crafty goodness today!

S is for Sonogram

Warning: medical stuff in here!

S for Sonogram. Not the fun kind you have when you're pregnant. Trust me...at 51 my baby days are long behind me.

No, this one started when I had a CAT scan of my stomach because of weird abdominal pain. They found 'something' in my pelvic area and my doctor said I had to have a pelvic sonogram. The doctor called me with the results this morning. I'm happy to say there was only a small cyst and nothing to be concerned about.

I've been hopeful. The last thing I need on top of my stomach problems and chronic back pain is more trouble. So at least I can put this behind me. If I never had another sonogram, I'd be happy. Why do all these tests involve things that are uncomfortable, like drinking a quart of water and holding it in? Well, at least they took me pretty quickly the other day, LOL! And they actually have a bathroom outside the ultrasound room that has a sign on the door that says, "for ultrasound patients ONLY!"

Okay, so the weird pain in my abdomen. It's on my left side, just a bit under my ribcage. I don't feel sick at all. I just ache. I'm having an endiscopy on September 18th. My gastro doc thinks I might have another ulcer.

Oh, great, wonderful. I can't take ibuprofen for my back (and damn, the stuff does work) because it gave me my first ulcer. Now I suppose I'll be told to knock off the coated aspirin I take. Which leaves Tylenol...which does nothing for inflammation.

Well, at least I can still use my heat pads. I hope!

R is for Really Nice Surprise!

Look what I got in the mail from my Pay It Forward swap partner, Betty at "She's So Pretty." The most adorable, cheerful apron ever! You should see the workmanship in this...it's breathtaking. Especially that scalloped hem! And don't you just love the way she embellished the pocket with a vintage handkerchief?

The apron is lined with the same strawberry fabric as the pocket, so it is reversible...but I think I prefer to wear it with that cute pocket showing!

Thanks, Betty! Thanks, thank, thanks for making my day! I loooove it!

Q for Quiet

Here's a picture I took of Sunken Meadow Beach at sunset last night. It's on the North Shore of Long Island. That's the Long Island Sound there...and Connecticut about 14 miles across the water. It sure doesn't look like 14 miles, but the curvature of the Earth fools your eyes.

Despite living on LI all my life, I don't like beaches. At least, not in the daytime. Maybe it is because I'm not a sun worshipper, and I detest crowds. But the beach at night...that's another story. Mike and I took a walk along the boardwalk. Most of the people who'd come to enjoy the holiday were gone by then, and it was so peaceful and quiet.

Looking out at the water, whether it's the Atlantic with its waves or the Sound that barely ripples, I get a sort of weird feeling. I think about how much life is teeming under that water, life you can't even see. Imagine if the waters were as clear as an aquarium! What a cool sight that would be from an airplane, huh?

Maybe the reason I don't like crowds is because I don't like noise. At least, not too much. I have to have a fan or heater or a/c humming in order to fall asleep. But one of my most favorite times of day is the very early morning, before anyone else is up. Even when my kids were little, they knew to give me that bit of quiet time. Weekdays, my husband is up before me, so my quiet time is to sit in bed and read while he's doing his work (his home office is our dining room).

There's enough noise out there for all of us, most of the day. But around 6:30 a.m.--that's quiet time for me.

Unless I'm lucky enough for my husband to ask, like he did last night, 'want to go to the beach?'

P is for Pets!

Meet my current furbabies!

This is Austin the Ferret. He's about 4 years old.

Here is Shadow Dante, dressed up like a prisoner last Halloween. This year, Katherine wants him to have a little cop costume!

These are my pretty kitties. Nutmeg is the black and white one, Melody is the tortoise-shell tabby. Somehow, they managed to fit their fat dupas on the back of a chair to sleep!

And here is my youngest baby, Rocky! He is about five months old. He's chubby and cuddly. Still going through the teething/biting stage, but not too bad about it. He is the first ferret I've ever had who comes when I call him!

All of my furbabies get along great with each other. You should se how happy Shadow gets when I take the ferrets out to play! Shadow is also seriously in love with Nutmeg. No kidding...if a dog and cat could have babies (pittens? kuppies?), they would. What a strange animal that would be!

O for Opinions

I generally keep my opinions to myself, unless I'm talking to my husband or one of my kids. They know how I feel about things like politics. (For the record, I'm just to the right of the middle of the road). I'm just not a confrontational person, and if a friend and I are going to disagree on something, I'd rather just leave certain topics alone. Besides, I'm not good at debate. I don't retain facts very well so even when I believe I'm right...it would be hard to win any argument on almost any topic. In other words, I was never "Captain of the Debate Team," LOL!

Sorta Frugal is a blog about my little ways to try to save money and get myself out of debt. It's about fun things like my crafting or my family. It isn't a political forum. But since I'm talking about opinions here, I'll throw one out to my few and faithful readers, anyway:

Being a child is a right. Being an adult is a privilege.

Parents who dress their kids like miniature adults, or put them into stressful situations (think 'out of control soccer parent yelling on the sidelines') rob their children of their God-given right to childhood. Let kids be kids! It is their right. It is their right to be sweet and innocent, and not have to worry about grownup things.

Oh, my gosh, the pushing adult things on kids starts early, doesn't it? I babysat a four-month-old who had a bib that said, "I'm too sexy for my diaper." Uh...yeah... (Giving the young mother credit, she didn't like it either, but it happened to be what she had clean and ready to use. Me...I'd have ditched it.) I've seen people give young children tastes of alcohol. In yesterday's paper, there was an article that stated there are fourth graders who've already started experimenting with drinking!

What kind of life are you facing when you're doing adult things at nine? Assuming kids today could live to be 100...that's 91 years of adulthood. Ugh. (Frankly, I think even 80 years of adulthood is too much. What's the rush?)

Adulthood is a privilege. When does it start? 18? 21? I don't believe in magic numbers. We all know 40-year-olds who act like pre-teens and eight-year-olds that are already world-weary. It's an individual thing. But I'll end this with a plea: moms and dads, let your kids be kids. Don't let adult things touch them too closely. Childhood is short enough as it is, and oh, so precious!

Sew Crafty Friday...scroll down!

I wrote it yesterday. Put the pictures in today. Published it today...and it came out as if it was published on Thursday. Please scroll down for today's Sew Crafty Friday!

N is for...

Nicky! Better known to his friends as 'Nick.' Nicky is 17 years old and about to enter his junior year at high school. His number one most favorite topic is "Halo," the video game. He even put a counter on my desktop that counts down to when Halo 3 comes out. I already reserved him a copy...almost a year ago! He says he should be able to stay home from school that day (a Tuesday) because he won't be able to concentrate anyway, he'll be so excited. I told him...ha, ha, ha.

Nicky has a great sense of humor. He takes very little seriously. Even as a kid, he hardly ever got upset. Not to say that sometimes he doesn't get snitty. He's a teenager after all. But he's never gone overboard with that whole teen angst thing. Yay! He will actually sit and talk to me...athough it's usually about something unpersonal like Halo, or the military, or some movie, or something funny he saw on line. None of my boys get personal with me...heaven forbid one of them would tell me if he had a girlfriend.

Nick's ambition is to join the Marines. Mom's ambition is that he finds something safer to do with his life, but I'd be proud of him if he did volunteer to defend our country. He could be a ballistics expert...he knows a lot about guns and ammo. Too much. He has a nice Airsoft gun (I have no idea what kind) which shoots soft plastic pellets. I told him as long as he lives here, he ain't getting a real gun. What is it with boys and guns?

Just to let you know he isn't all about guns, he's amazing with animals. You should hear him talk gooey baby talk to our dog, Shadow! He takes Shadow into bed with him every night, and onto the couch with him when he lays down to listen to his MP3 player.

So...that's it about Nicky. I'd post about my cat, Nutmeg...but this is long enough, LOL!

Oh...and lest we forget where this whole ABC Meme started, here's the link again!

http://belladia.typepad.com/bella_dia/encyclopedia_of_me_meme/index.html

Sew Crafty Friday: Tote Bag

This is how I make a fat quarter mini tote bag. I am no expert, LOL--I'm just fudging it. So...you can fudge along with me!

1. Start with two coordinating fat quarters. Actually, for this I used 2 'quarter flats' from Joann's. They measure 18x22 inches.


















2. Cut the pieces in half so you have 2 9x22 inch pieces of each. (I just clip at the 9 inch mark and tear--fabric always tears along the straight grain.)















3. Using one 9x22 inch piece as a pattern, cut a piece of something that will give the tote bag 'body.' I used some leftover quilt batting. It isn't thick, just a little heavier than felt.

4. Baste the batting to the wrong side of your lining fabric, close to the edge. Trim off any excess batting.

(This is folded to show the lining side and the batting side)

5. Fold in half lengthwise, right sides together, and stitch about a half inch from either long side.

6. This part's a little tricky, so I hope I'm clear about it. You want to fold the bottom of the bag to make a point, with the side seam running up the middle. Measure 1 1/2 inches in from the point and mark a line across. Sew across this line. (This is going to make a square bottom on your tote.)

7. Trim away the excess fabric on the point. (Sorry, my camera wouldn't take a clear picture!)

8. Repeat steps 5-7 with your outer fabric. At this point, if you're ambitious, iron your seams flat.

9. Slip the outer layer inside the lining, right sides together. Pin along the top, matching seams. Stitch around the top, with a half inch seam...leaving about 5 or 6 inches open for turning.

10. Trim away about half of the lining and batting seam to reduce bulk. (Don't trim the seam of the outer layer. This 'grading' of the seam will help it lay nicely.)

11. Top stitch along the top, encasing the raw edge.

12. From the remaining fabric, cut 2 strips 2 1/2 inches by 22 inches. Cut a piece of batting the same size.

13. You can baste the batting to the wrong side of one strip. But this time around, I just layered the two fabrics right sides together and put the batting underneath them. I stitched all 3 together with a half-inch seam, leaving one end open for turning. (Actually, I would have been better off basting the batting to the lining...it was a pain trying to get them to turn 'together.')

14. Grade the seams of the handle the same way as step 10. Trim the corners.

15. Turn the strap right side out. Turn in the raw edge.

16. Center the ends of the straps over the side seams and pin. Stitch in place with a strong seam. I used a saddle stitch and made a 'square'.

17. Enjoy! You can probably do this in less than an hour, not having to stop and take pictures and blog about it.

Hope you enjoyed my tutorial and that it was somewhat clear and fun to follow!

Please visit Shereen at "Waiting for Him" (over there on my links list) for more "Sew Crafty Friday" goodies!

M for...

Michael...my favorite boy's name. My husband's name, my son's name, my late fil's name, my late youngest brother's name. My husband and fil are Michael James. My son is Michael William--the William comes from my oldest brother and my late father.

My husband is a safety consultant engineer for a major corporate insurance company. That means he goes to job sites and makes sure the 'insured' is doing all they can to keep their workers safe. His recommendations can either make or break a risk's policy. He knows all about stuff like OSHA. He often works at home on a computer, but his job also takes him to many different places and types of businesses.
Mike, my husband, keeps our yard trim and beautiful. He does most of the really heavy duty housework. He makes a mean pasta sauce.
He looks better at 53 than most guys do at 33. He works out or runs 6/7 days a week. He can bench press nearly 400 pounds.
I'm the animal lover, but he's the one who buys peanuts for the squirrels!

My son is a computer programmer for an educational software company. He's absolutely brilliant. He's the first one to help when help is needed. He's like me...not particularly sociable, but very friendly in the right situation. He's like my dad was...sharp witted, impatient with dumb people, but generous.
Michael is amazing with little kids. They bring out a side of him rarely seen...patience and silly humor. I sure hope he marries and has some of his own someday! (He's only going on 25. I'm in no rush.)

My fil was a good man, a decent guy with a kind sense of humor, very dedicated to his wife and kids. He worked as a construction worker until his retirement, then was involved in everything you could think of. It was a great loss when he died of a heart attack a few years ago.

I already posted about my brother Michael, who died back in 1971. He served in Vietnam. When I was in Ohio, I went over some pictures of him. He was a real cutie with a headful of curly hair. Now I know where my son Nicky gets his curls, LOL!

So that's my letter of the day!

WFMW: K is for Kitchen & L is for Laundry

http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/2007/08/works-for-me-ju.html

I haven't done a "Works for Me Wednesday" in a while. It just fell into place with the next letters of the alphabet: K & L.

K is for Kitchen: I love my kitchen. It is the heart of the home, IMHO. We don't eat in there... it isn't big enough. But if food is love, then a lot of my love for my family happens there. I love to cook. I don't have a fancy 'working kitchen' with a 12-burner stove, and I don't have an island and I don't have much counter space. I have enough.
I have 4 kids and a husband who were nice enough to take down the ugly wallpaper and paint the place a pretty shade of green. I have a husband who was willing to shell out to replace the hideous Brady Bunch orange counters for clean white ones. And to shell out for a decent floor!

One thing that 'works for me' in there is to keep heavy, but much-used, appliances out on the counter. I used to have to call one of my family members to lug out my Kitchenaid mixer whenever I wanted to use it--which was often. I got smart and traded it out for my much-lighter bread maker. Now the Kitchenaid sits on the counter all the time, on a pretty, vintage, crocheted red-and-white doily. The doily makes it easy to slide the big thing back and forth as I need it. There's another tip: put your heavy countertop toys on a piece of felt, a towel, or a doily to make sliding around easier!

L is for Laundry. I have divided mine up into 2 categories each day. My washer can't really take much more than that...well, the drywell it drains into can't, I mean. The washer is practically new and great. And two loads leaves room for the kids to take care of their own washes. Example: on Mondays, I do lingerie and socks. Tuesdays are for tops and ironing (if I remember to take them right out of the dryer, LOL!) Wednesday is bottoms. Weekends are catchup washes. I will never, ever catch up to all of it, though. But at least we all generally have something clean to wear each day, LOL!

I'm off to work in 10 minutes. Too late to do my morning load of laundry...but I actually did get my kitchen cleaned up!

J is for Job!

I love my job. I have the world's nicest boss. She is, as I said yesterday, from India. She has a great sense of humor, is very kind-hearted and treats me with respect.

I have been a writer and a cashier in my life. Not to mention a few babysitting jobs. I did well as a writer for years, the market changed, I've got writer's block and that's that...for a while. I hope to get back in the groove someday.

You couldn't give me enough money to ever be a cashier again. Most people were pretty nice, but there was the occasional j*ck*a*s who thought it was okay to treat you like dirt.

In the interim, life threw the curveball of a bad back at me. I can't stand or sit for any great length of time. So forget standing at a register, anyway. I am in a bad way financially (which is why I started doing my best to be frugal a few years ago--and the financial situation truly is improving), and I needed to get a job. But what could I do? I couldn't work long hours or do anyting stressful.

Then along came my daughter's friend, who was leaving the job at Dr. A's. I had my doubts, but I decided to take a chance. My first night, there were fifteen patients (in 3 hours!) and I was totally lost. My daughter's friend stopped by and lent me a hand. Sweet kid, huh?

Okay, within 2 days I had the routine down. Now I've been there a year and a half. I only work 3 hours a day and a few days each week. So even if I'm tired, it's such a short time I don't mind. I file, answer the phone, clean and generally help where I can. It is just me and Dr. A. She says thank you every day when I leave. I am thankful for an easy job, a nice boss, and money to take home each week!

Oh...and the perk of free medical advice and stuff like free Claritin!

:)

I for International

I am of German Irish French descent. I can trace my German line back to the late 1600s, the Irish back to the late 1700s and the French about a century ago. My Irish great-great-grandfather was born on the ship coming over from Dublin, Ireland in 1802. I like having multiple nationalities in my background. GG Daniel was married 3 times. I'm descended from the third wife. God bless her, she was barely 20 when she married Danny, who was about 50 with 5 kids from the previous marriages. They had another 6 kids. I like to think that Catherine was a loving wife and mother, and that Danny treated her well.

My husband is pure Italian. So my kids are half that and half mutt like me. It was interesting to meet and marry someone of a single ethnic background, where traditions are purely Italian.

Now my daughter is dating a really nice guy of Puerto-Rican/El Salvadoran descent. So if they ever marry and have kids, my grandchildren will be of Italian, German, Irish, French, Puerto Rican and El Salvadorian descent, LOL!

And on top of all this, I work for an Indian boss. So I'm learning some of their culture and have sampled some of their food. I tell you, I thought Italian weddings were something else. I haven't been to an Indian wedding, but I've seen pictures. So colorful! And the groom rides in on either a white horse...or an elephant! Geesh!

Happy Monday, whatever your ancestry!

H is for Home

As you can probably tell, I had a great time at Mom's in Ohio. It was one of the best visits we ever had. I hope there are at least 20 more...which would take my mom to the age of 104, LOL!

Still, I'm happy to be home. In my own territory. Following my own routine and using my own bathroom. I don't care how comfortable a place is, you are always happier in your own bathroom.

This morning, I put the kitchen back in order. The kids were great about keeping it clean, but I'm really fussy about where things belong and had to redo some out of place items.

My plan for today is to record my coupons and get them into the binder, check out the sales circulars for the groceries and drug stores this week (and coordinate with coupons) and to make up my week's menu. I already took out some taco meat from the freezer and some trimmed chicken to use this week. Don't know what I'll do with the chicken yet, but I'm just going for easy tacos tomorrow night. I'll be back to work for the first time in over a week.

I might hit CVS today. We'll see. I'm hoping the summer stuff has gone down lower than 50%. I already used my $20 ECBs from the Kraft deal a few weeks back--it paid for some things we took on the trip, including a Rachel Ray Everyday Magazine! Now I have to see what new ECBs I can get!

Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

G...for Grandparents

My mother is the last of the grandparents alive. I lost my dad, the kid's grandpa, 20 years ago. Mike's mother passed away about 2 years ago and his dad a few years before that. I'm sorry that my father died before the kids were really old enough to know him. Nicky was born after he died, so he never knew him at all. But they did get many great years with their paternal grandparents, and my mom is doing so well I wouldn't be surprised she lives to be 100.

My maternal grandfather died when I was a baby. He was apparently a really nice man. My mother's mother passed away about 10 years ago. She was almost 97. My father's parents have been gone for many years. It's dad's mother who had all the lace I brought home. (I am home, btw--12 hours in the car and 625 miles later.) I have great memories of their house. It is an old Federal building that had two extensions put on it. There was this big, twisting staircase to the upstairs. There was a massive country kitchen, and behind it some kind of storage area with a staircase that was full of mysteries. Grandpa always had a bowl of candy out--back in the day when candy was a huge treat. And he never said, 'no you can't have that.'

I'm glad I have some great memories of my grandparents. I'm glad my kids will have some, too. Grandparents are so very important to kids, aren't they?

F is for Food, Fabric and Family

Food at Mom's...holy cow. I think I've gained five pounds here in Ohio. Monday we had lasagna. Tuesday we had beef stroganoff. Wednesday we went to a cool restaurant, "Der Dutchman," where I had chicken-fried steak. Hot dogs for dinner that night. Last night we went to a place called the Ohio State Hall of Fame Cafe. I had a prime rib sandwich. (I commented to my son that we sure have been eating a lot of beef this week!) And tonight...speaking of holy cow...my mother made us t-bone steaks on the grill! With salad (tomatoes from her garden) and mini potato pancakes.
After lunch at Der Dutchmann, we went to this Amish place that sells bulk spices, candy and cheese really cheap. There is a little room in the back. It used to sell fabric. Now it sells a few sewing notions, but numerous vintage things, too. I found the cutest little child's tea set in blue and white for $4 and a pretty crystal creamer for a quarter. The prices were so amazing! Everything seems so much cheaper out of New York.
I think the best part of this visit, other than seeing my mother and my aunt Mary, was going through some old lace my mother had in a cabinet downstairs. It was from when my paternal grandmother was alive. I remember she had this cool sewing room, just off the living room, with French doors. My grandmother died before I was married, so it has to be at least 30 years ago. She was in her 90s and hadn't done any sewing in many years. So the lace and doilies I'm bringing home with me are at least 40 years old. Who knew there was such a treasure in my mother's house!
I also got to pick out any and all fabric I wanted from my mother's stash. I found some really cute stuff. Mom says, 'take whatever you want. I'm trying to get rid of it.' She will be 85 in January. I'm thinking she's going to live to be 100, at least. I hope so!
I also hope that my two sisters, my brother and I can all gather whatever of the grandchildren are available and meet next summer to celebrate my mother's 85th year. It has been a long time since we've been together. It's hard to be so far apart...we're in New York, Ohio, Michigan and Georgia!

Greetings from Ohio...and E

I'm visiting my mother in Ohio this week, with my husband and youngest and oldest sons. Our drive here took just under 12 hours yesterday. That's great timing even with stopping twice to eat and twice at rest areas. Somehow, we avoided construction on the highways.

My husband does all the driving. It's a company car and I couldn't drive it if I wanted to...which I don't. We left New York at 4 a.m. Needless to say, he conked out early for bed last night. It's been years since we did this. I can't believe I used to do it with four kids, at least one in a car seat.

I have only one "E" word today. Eggs. My mother makes the best deviled eggs in creation. It's one of those recipes she just throws together...nothing is written down. Aren't all great family recipes like that? I can never duplicate them. Her secret ingredient, of all things, is a pinch of sugar!

Okay, here's my frugal part of this post. I bought one of those Entertainment books of coupons for the Columbus, Ohio area. Because it is last year's book, and expires November 1st of this year, it was really, really, really cheap. But there are coupons for one place we are going this week (Der Dutchmann, a family-style restaurant), so even if my mother uses only that, it more than pays for the book. My mother can peruse it and find any coupons she can use, then pass it on to one of my cousins.

My mother has dial-up (yuck) so it is about 25 times slower than my computer at home. But I will try to blog while I'm here. I don't know what we're doing today. It's pouring rain. I'd like to hit a cool used book store nearby.

D is for...

Daughter. This is my daughter, Katherine. Ain't she gorgeous? Everyone should have such a cool, funny, sweet daughter as this. And watch out...she's hoping to head to police academy one day! If there was such a thing as a cop who walks the beat, all the kids would be calling her 'Officer Kate.' She's got that kind of personality--she won't let a gun and a badge be her strength and courage.

Daughter's Dog. His name is Shadow Dante. He is a chihuahua. He looks demented in this picture. He's such a baby sweetie. My vet says he's more like a labrador in his personality than a chihuahua. He loves all my other animals and everyone in this house...especially Katherine and me. He really likes my husband. But if Mike tries to kiss me, Shadow jumps between us! Is he protecting me, or is he jealous that he's not getting all the attention? I call him "Poopadus" and Katherine calls him "Moon." I never thought I'd love a little dog this much!

Drive. Something I hate to do. I pretty much keep to roughly a 3-mile radius around my house (as in, Target, Michael's and the grocery.) Which is why my husband and son are doing most of the driving tomorrow for the 12-hour trip to grandma's!

Speaking of daughters...Katherine is the one taking care of all my animals when I'm gone!

C is for...

Cold...I'm getting over one today. Good thing, too, since we're taking a drive to my mother's house in Ohio on Monday. That's a 12 hour trip! (My husband and son will do the driving. I don't do highways.)

Crochet...one of my hobbies. I have made afghans, but lately I pretty much stick with things that go together quickly, like dish rags. You can never have enough dish rags, LOL! So much nicer than sponges!

Coupons...I'm an avid couponer. One of my friends called me a "Coupon Monster," once, LOL! I play "The Grocery Game." Check the site out, it's worth it! www.grocerygame.com

I consider couponing not only part of keeping my spending down, but also another hobby. I probably spend an hour or two a week on it. After doing this for about two years, I found a system that works best for me. I keep each circular in it's own plastic 'page protector' in my 3-ring household binder. (Binder! Now there's another word I could have used for B!) I write the date on it and what the source is--Valassis, Smartsource and Proctor & Gamble are the 3 biggies.
My husband gave me a leather-bound folder with a pad in it. In here, I write down the coupons that interest me, by date, and indicate when they expire. I highlight household items with one color highlighter and health and beauty with another. Anything not highlighted is food. As I use the coupons, I cross them off the list.

Yeah, seems like a lot of work. But I love doing it and like I said, it's a hobby, too. Besides, even if I spent 3 hours a week on it, I generally save $40-$50 at the grocery. How many hobbies work out to pay you that much per hour?

I use Grocery Game for my two supermarkets, but my own system of filing my coupons works for CVS and other small stores. Oh! I don't clip the coupons until I actually use them. I find this saves me a lot of time. When I go through and record each week's coupons, I also throw away any pages I don't need...like the ones where you can send away for checks or some cute figurine.

Cooking...my absolute passion. I love, love, love to cook. I am what is known as a 'hobby cook.' So many recipes, so little time! And I'm not talking about anything fancy-shmancy, either. I cook food that 'real' people will eat. So you won't be seeing any sauteed duck tongues with sorrel foam coming from my kitchen! (Anyone who watches Top Chef gets the foam reference...although I liked Marcel!)

Like I said, I'm off to Ohio on Monday. So, no menu plan for the week. I almost feel as if something is missing by not doing one, LOL! Still, I'm thinking of bringing some cilantro to my mom's house and buying the other ingredients for guacamole to make some for us. Can you believe, my mother is 84 and never tasted guacamole before last year?

Enough C's! This is waaaay too long...and not a picture in sight to break up the monotony. Please scroll down to my "B" post for the link to the lovely blogger who started all this ABC fun!

Sew Crafty Friday,and B is for...

Buttons. I need to think about what kind of buttons to put on the little vintage dress. I want something flat, but not plain. Maybe something in white with a flower shape carved into it? The dress is more peachy than pink. I'll have to see what I can find. Speaking of find...my buttonhole attachment was lost, but I found it the other day. Now I can actually finish some things!

I tried to spread the dress out so you can see what a full skirt it has. Don't know if I already posted this...but it's a princess line. Now I'm thinking I need to find a crinoline pattern so the dress poofs out like it should.

For more Sew Crafty Friday fun, click on "Waiting for Him" over there in my links list.

And I have the link to the cool blogger who started all this ABC fun! Here ya go...

http://belladia.typepad.com/bella_dia/2007/07/encylopedia-of-.html

More Bs from me...

Brothers. My oldest brother, who will be 61 in December, lives in Michigan. I had two other brothers, also older than me. Unfortunately, they have both passed away. I really miss them, although I hardly remember the brother I lost 35 years ago. I just know he had a great sense of humor. My middle brother lived in New Mexico. He was the coolest guy--not a mean bone in his body. One of the best trips I ever took in my life, was a trip around New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona in his old VW. I've never seen anything like the Southwest, and I sure with my brother was around to show it off to my kids.

Books. I love books. But I don't hang on to most of them. Books are living things...they shouldn't be left to collect dust on a shelf. I admit to being a big Stephen King fan, and am currently reading "The Shining" for maybe the 100th time. It still scares me, LOL!

Don't ask me where it started...

...but there's an ABC thing going around blogland. If you know who got it going, lmk and I'll give credit where it is due. Basically, you blog about one letter at a time. So I hope to do this between 'real' posts.

A is For Austin, one of my ferrets...

Austin is about 5 years old. He was a Mother's Day gift. He is the sweetest thing on earth.

A is for Author...what I have been in my life. My most recently published works are 3 books for middle-grade readers about immigrant children. If you want to find out more, one of the books is called: "Fiona McGilray's Story: A Voyage from Ireland in 1849." I have not felt much like writing these past few years, but I'm thinking about investing in a cheap laptop and getting back into it. We'll see.

That's all the A's I can think of, LOL!

Sew Crafty Friday: Vintage Dress

My friend (she with the newly adopted baby) was kind enough to let me borrow some of her patterns, including a really cool vintage one from 1954! It's already cut in a size 1, so that's the size of the pinafore I'm making for the baby. I figure she'll either wear it next winter with a sweater, or next spring. Anyhoo, my only problem is that my buttonhole attachment has vanished (it's in this room somewhere, but I can't find it and I've looked!), so I'll only be able to take this up to the buttonhole step. Oh, well, I hope it find it before next winter. I have a lot of projects that need buttons, LOL!

The dress has a princess line, which is just so pretty and girly. I wish little girls still dressed like this!

PS--there is a dark spot on the dress in the photo, but it's not there in real life. Strange trick of the flash, I suppose. The dress is attached to my mannequin, sans sleeves. The sides are not yet sewn, so it's not quite as wide as it looks.

Please visit Sher over at "Waiting for Him" for more crafty friday goodies!

Check out CVS this week

I'm not sure this works everywhere in the country. But in my circular, on page 3, there is a deal that if you buy $20 worth of certain Kraft products (there is a large selection), you get a $20 ECB coupon back! That's $20 you get to spend on anything you want on a future visit to the store. I stocked up on a few things, and even treated the family to Oreo cookies (I rarely buy stuff like that).

You have to sign up to get the ECBs, but it's free (of course) and easy. And the best ECBs are the ones you can spend on anything. I have another $5 one, so now I have $25 to spend. I'm waiting for the summer stuff to go cheaper (sorry, but 25% isn't 'clearance' to me, LOL!) so I'll get a few things for next year. I don't know what else I'll get, though.

(One thing you should know, if you've never done this...ECBs, which stands for Extra Care Bucks,do have expiration dates!)

I hope everyone who reads my blog--all eleven of you, LOL--gets a great deal this week, at CVS or elsewhere!

My 200th post

So I'm gonna do a 'meme.' Courtesy of...http://steppingbygrace.blogspot.com/ (aka Amy).


Four Jobs I've Done In My Life:1. Magazine editor (trade magazines. Loved the children's wear one...hated the plastics industry one).
2. Park counselor--loved it
3. Author
4. Receptionist--my current job. I'm very, very happy there!


Four Countries I've Been To:1. England
2. France
3. Italy
4. Switzerland

Four Places I'd Rather Be Right Now: 1.The fabric store with unlimited cash
2. An ice cream parlor eating a butterscotch sundae
3. A Chinese restaurant
4. Catfish Annie's, my favorite seafood restaurant

:)Four Foods I Like to Eat: 1. Lobster, if only I could afford it; 2.ice cream of almost any kind. 3. really good chocolate and 4.really good steak.

A new swap!

Edited to add (with apologies): USA folks only. Not that I don't love everyone in the world...I just can't afford the shipping!

Betty over at "She's Sew Pretty" told me about the swap her daughter, who is not named Martha but runs a blog called "My Best Friend Calls Me Martha", is having. (I think that might have been a run-on sentence, LOL!) http://mybestfriendcallsmemartha.blogspot.com/2007/07/pay-it-forward.html

You can use the link above or the link over there to the right that says "She's Sew Pretty's Daughter." The pay-it-forward swap idea is simple. The first three people to respond here will get a homemade item from me sometime in the next year. I crochet, I sew and I scrapbook...so who knows what you will receive?

All you have to do is promise to 'Pay It Forward' to three more people who respond to your own blog?

Get it? Easy-Peasy! Good luck!

T-Shirt Frugality

A few posts back, I wrote about altering a t-shirt I bought for the amazing price of a quarter at CVS. Well, this summer I've been altering a lot of t-shirts. We all have ones that have faded, stretched out, gotten stained or are just plain 'ready for the rag bag.' Well, being somewhat broke (and still in debt, although that is diminishing), and in desperate need of decent clothes for the summer, I decided to make do. So...every time I come across a pretty top that is no longer wearable, I now cut off any nice trims and put them in my trims and lace box. That way, I can use them on plain t-shirts.

If you sew, then you know that trims and laces are quite expensive! Cutting them from an old shirt makes them free...and the leftover fabric is great for rags.

Obviously, I need shirts to decorate. Walgreen's sells plain t-shirts for about $2.50 each, in many colors. I bought a pink one the other day and added a pink lace motif to it that was from an old shirt. (My camera's memory card is missing...wish I could find it and post a picture!) So I basically ended up with a $15-$20 shirt that only cost me $2.50 and a little time.

There are two ways to do this. 1)If you sew, cut around the lace or motif leaving a little extra fabric around the edge. This is where your stitches will go. Use a LOT of pins. I'm lucky to have a mannequin (yay!) but you could put a piece of cardboard or a magazine behind the neckline so you don't pin through the back. Set your machine on a nice zig-zag and stitch away.

2)If you don't sew, cut the trim as close to the edge as possible. Then just use fabric glue or an iron-in fusible web (just make sure it's washable).

Now...doesn't this just make you want to go out and buy a cheap t-shirt, LOL?

Can anyone tell me...

...how you go about finding what swaps are in the works? I enjoyed Kelly's "Favorites" swap. It was my first swap in ages and ages. I'd like to join another one...or two...but how do I find them? Anyone know? Thanks!

And the winner is...

...Natasha, of Rickrack and Ribbons! Congratulations!

The furry paw that chose Natasha's name belongs to my chihuahua, Shadow Dante. I would have loved to have taken a picture. Alas, when I was unloading my camera the other day...I misplaced the danged memory card. It would have been a funny picture.

Natasha, I left you a message with my e-mail on your blog. Hope to hear from you soon!

The Drawing will be held...

...Friday morning, by eleven. I have to go in for a CT-scan (funny abdominal pain I'm having checked out) in the afternoon, so I won't be up to it later in the day.

Good luck to everyone!

BIDDING IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS FOR PLAYING!!!!




http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/2007/07/dog-days-of-sum.html



Shannon over at Rocks in My Dryer is hosting a Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway! Oh, boy, you should see all the people participating!

BTW: please read the whole post for my 1 simple rule to enter! (A few nice people stopped by and missed it, so I'm editing this post and highlighting the rule.)

So here is my donation. It's a package of "20 neutral pH 20" x 30" tissues for wrapping and storing a full-size keepsake quilt." You could even use it for keepsake clothing such as a christening gown. I bought it a few years ago, but it is NRFP (never removed from package).


So how do you get it? Easy. Just scroll down here in my blog and find the meme I posted. There are a bunch of questions. Pick any two questions you like and answer them in the comments on this post.

On Friday, probably in the afternoon, I will print out the comments and cut them into separate pieces. I will spread these on my kitchen floor and let one of my animals at it. Maybe a dog, maybe a ferret. All I know is...whichever paper is first touched by a furry paw...is the winner!

PS--US and Canada only, please!

So, good luck! And visit Shannon's blog at the link above. This is just awesome!

A Meme and some tags

I found one of those fun 'questionnaires' over at http://katherines123blog.blogspot.com/ (I hope I got that right!) I love these things. I think they are a fun way to get to know little things about each other. I'm 'stealing' this to post my own answers.
Note: After some thought, I decided there were too many ?s and answers, so I'm back here taking out a few. That is why the numbers are off kilter.


1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Not that I know of, but they spelled my name wrong on my birth certificate. My dad said it took 6 months to straighten it out.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes, if I'm not in a hurry. Trust me, 8 years of Catholic grammar school makes it almost impossible to have really bad handwriting.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? 4 of 'em...3 boys who are 17, 20 and 24 and a daughter who is 22.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? HA, HA, HA. I wouldn't jump off a curb!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Cocoa Puffs, Froot Loops and Kellogg's Raisin Bran. Oh, and Cap'n Crunch. Does anyone out there remember when Golden Crisp was called Sugar Crisp?

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Not usually, which is stupid because I have to untie them to get them back on again. Speaking of which, my baby ferret is attacking my feet and I have to put my sneakers back on again. He's such a brat!

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Not by a long shot, physically. Emotionally, either I'm strong or pretty good about burying my head in the sand.

15. RED OR PINK? red is my favorite color.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My mom-in-law who passed away about a year and a half ago.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? I'd like to say red, because it is my favorite color. But it would more likely be something weird like burnt umber...a color no one uses. I'd like to be left alone, most of the time. (I'm not very sociable.) But I'm also nice and down-to-earth, so maybe I should be that color they named macaroni and cheese. Ha, ha, that's me...pretty cheesy!

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Roses, coffee, oranges, coffee, tomato plants, coffee... Oh! And there's nothing like a cuddly, clean, freshly-bathed baby!

27. HAIR COLOR? I have colored my hair so many times, I almost forget what color it used to be. Right now, it's a sort of auburn. My husband says he feels like he gets a new wife every 6 weeks because I change color so often!

28. EYE COLOUR? hazel

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Chinese food, Mexican food, down home American cooking. But my all time most favorite is lobster! Aaaggh...it's going for $14.99/lb. these days! Boo-hoo, guess I'm not getting any this summer!

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I love scary movies, but I don't like stupid ones or ones that have violence for the sake of violence. I want a real plot line and characters that have at least something resembling common sense. Which, alas, rules out a LOT of movies.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Sleepy Hollow.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? If I was stuck with the extremes of either one, I'd take summer. At least your car isn't likely to go skidding in the summer!

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs, but I'd prefer to just say 'hi.'

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? The newest Diane Mott Davidson, "Dark Torte."

42. FAVORITE SOUND? Birds singing, my ferrets 'dooking' (it's a weird sound they make when they are happy), a baby giggling, cats purring.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Italy

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I'm a published author with 15 books to my name. Never made much money at them, but I guess it proves I can write! (For the record, 12 horror novels and 3 books for young readers.)

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Long Island, New York.

47. WHAT SUPERPOWER WOULD YOU LIKE? I'd like to really be able to talk to animals.

I'm tagging Susan (Blackberry Creek), Shereen (Waiting for Him) and Jenn (Frugal Upstate)! Hope you can play!

Sew Crafty Friday: What to do with a 25 cent T-shirt

No kidding...a quarter. CVS had their summer things on clearance at 90% off and it was only 2.50 to begin with. Granted, it isn't a heavy t-shirt (although it is Hanes), but for that price, who cares? Well, it's also cheap enough to play with. In the first picture, I layered a sleeveless top over it that has shrunk too much, and has some bleach stains. I'm using a cutting board as a dress form--how pathetic. (But, I have a real one on order!) Okay...so I pinned it around the lace collar with a LOT of pins. You don't want this going anywhere. Off to the sewing machine, where I stitched around the lace, through both shirts, leaving about a half inch border. I carefully cut away the bottom part of the old shirt, right near the stitches (picture 2). In the 3rd picture, you can see that I have now cut away the neck part of the new shirt.

I don't have a picture of the finished shirt, but I covered up the raw edge of the old t-shirt with some bias tape I'd made from fabric I had. You could use flat lace or purchased bias tape, too. The fabric I used is the same I used for the skirt, purse and headband I made a while back. I haven't worn the t-shirt with that skirt, but it would match.

One thing I didn't do, and would the next time, is to remove the label from the old shirt. It kind of shows after you trim everything away.

Please visit "Waiting for Him" (see my blog list) for more great ideas from "Sew Crafty Friday!"

Abbi-Rose in her bonnet!

Well, here's dollbaby in the bonnet I made for her. (Sorry about the red eyes--they must be reflecting all that pink.)

It was so nice to see her in person! She's a very sweet, docile baby. Her whole family is on cloud 9. I've never seen a mommy and daddy and two brothers so happy! Her daddy was so funny. He was dressing her, and she was fussing a little, and he says, "I've put up with torn jeans for 8 years (her youngest brother is 8), so you're gonna be in ruffles until you are at least 4!"

I didn't make the dress. It's a Polly Flinders...but doesn't it look like the bonnet and dress were made for each other?

And omg, you should see the nursery. I wish I'd taken a picture! They redecorated mommy's sewing room. The white crib sits catty-cornered. There is a white carousel horse behind it. They've had the horse for years, and mommy painted it white with pink accents. Daddy and the boys painted the top half of the walls in a pink-and-white sponge technique. The bottom is 1 inch wide pink and white stripes. Imagine painting all those stripes! Mommy even painted the ceiling fan pink and white! It is a dream nursery, and it didn't cost them all that much. Mommy and I met on a tightwads board about 9 years ago and really hit it off. This is a really frugal family--frugal, not cheap. They are beyond generous and just the nicest people you could meet. Abigail Rose is a blessing to them...but they are also a blessing to her!

I can't tell you the story of how they got her, because it is extremely private. I'll only say that she wouldn't be here without them...she would have been a statistic, if you know what I mean. I'll also tell you that they prayed 8 years for another child. They were supposed to go to Disney last year, but something made them decide to stay home. If they had gone, they would never have met the birth mother. I'm not a particularly religious person...but if this wasn't a miracle, I don't know the definition.

Anyway, so there she is! Miss Abigal Rose!

A Frugal Gift

My little nephew had his 2nd birthday party last weekend. I had asked my sil what to get for him, and she adamently said, 'nothing.' Seriously, the kid has more toys than FAO Schwartz, and he's only 2. Mike and I gave him a check for his education fund (Johnny's father, John, is Mike's brother. Mike is Johnny's godfather). But a check isn't a lot of fun for a kid, and I wanted to give a little something extra.

My sil, Noreen, said that Johnny likes to stack things and line things up. My first thought: building blocks! Nice, old-fashioned wooden ones. Well, I had a set of them in a wooden box that I had bought for $1 at a garage sale a while back. You know how something grabs you and you just know there will be a use for it in the future?

Johnny's really into Thomas the Tank Engine. The other day, at Michael's, I found a scrapbooking kit featuring Thomas. As you can see by the pictures, I decorated the box and some of the blocks. Then I used some of the 12x12 paper to wrap the gift! I still have lots of the Thomas set for scrapping pages from the party, too.

Alas, I couldn't attend. I had work that day and I'm already taking off a weekend to visit friends in Pennsylvania. (This is the family of the adopted baby for which I made the bonnets. I get to meet her tomorrow!)

I would love to see what others have done to turn something they bought cheap into something special!

I actually like some commercials!

Susie Q mentioned the Petsmart commercials with the dog who carries around his 'baby,' a stuffed toy named Bobo. I love that.



Some others I like:



The one where the mother takes these little orange clocky things from the trash and gets mad at her kids for wasting 'perfectly good minutes.' It is for a cell phone. The kid says, "but mom, those are from last April!" And the mom says something like, "they are still perfectly good! You know, there are some children who don't have rollover minutes! You just remember that, mister!"

Clever, familiar and funny.



The one where the father tells his daughter's date that his picture is right next to his on the daughter's phone.

"It's like I'm watching you, all the time." Translation: "I'm watching you when you're with my little girl, buster."

The look in the father's eyes cracks me up every time. And did you notice the predatory symbols around the room? Shark jaws? A tiger statue?



Funny that they are both for cell phone companies, and I don't even have a cell phone.

I love the Geico commercials with the sophisticated Neanderthals! Too funny! And I hear they're going to have their own TV show. I doubt it will last more than a season, but it'll be fun to check it out.

That's all I can think of, right now.

Another annoying commercial, or two

I probably spend too much energy growling at the TV. But there are commercials that just get to me. Either they are immoral, stupid or have sounds that hurt your ears. One that comes to mind is the new Starbucks commercial...which is about them shooting a commercial! Have you seen it? The director keeps yelling 'cut,' while the actor glugs down the iced coffee. And I mean 'glugs.' Is there anything ickier than people who make noise when they swallow? But you know what's funny? The last few times I saw the commercial...there was no 'glug-glug' sound! I wonder if anyone complained? (I just growl at the TV. And I blog about it. I don't write letters, LOL!)

Here's the 'or two' from the title: have you seen the IKEA commercial? This woman looks at her bill and is so shocked by how much she saved that she thinks the teller made a mistake. So she runs like a crazy woman to her car, where her husband is waiting, shouting (screaming): "Start the car! Start the car!" And as they drive away she lets out this victory 'whoo-hoo!"

Okay, I hate this commercial on several levels:

1. Did she look at the prices before she put things in her cart? Didn't she know there was a sale? Or does she just blindly pick things up and hope for the best when it comes to prices?

2. If there was a mistake that was that big, then leaving without pointing out is immoral. And I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to be that happy about stealing.

3. That screaming! What is she, a freakin' banshee? Wow, do I feel sorry for her husband.

4. And finally...the background music is about as pleasant as fingernails on a blackboard.

The only redeeming thing about this commercial is that it relates to a sale...so maybe it won't run very long.

Okay, enough griping. Yes, I know they're only commercials. I still don't like them, LOL!

Next blog, I'll get back to pleasant things like cats and bonnets.

Sew Crafty Friday: Bonnet

Here is a bonnet I made for this baby: http://sortafrugal.blogspot.com/2007/05/tired-today.html. I finally get to meet her next Friday! The pattern is by Butterick.

After 2 boys and many years of trying and praying for another baby, my friends were very thrilled to adopt little Abigail Rose. So, when I asked mommy what color she preferred for any gifts, she said, "pink, pink, pink!" Naturally, I had to choose pink rose fabric for the bonnet! It is fully lined, and not as hard to make at it looks. Getting the gathers to be even is about the hardest thing. I think I got the fabric from a wonderful site called www.shabbyfabrics.com, but it might have also come from Joann's. I'm pretty sure it was shabbyfabrics, though. They have an absolutely delicious selection of what I would call 'cottage' type fabrics. Think pink, roses and anything romantic.

Okay, now you gotta link over to "Waiting for Him" (see the link list to the right) and view more creativity on this "Sew Craft Friday." Better yet, show off something of your own over there!

A Box I Received!

Feast your eyes on the box I received as part of the "Favorite Things" swap, hosted by the lovely Kelly of According-to-Kelly.blogspot.com!!

It was sent to me all the way from Arizona by the lovely Heather of Scavocentral.blogspot.com!

The idea behind the swap was to send your partner at least 3 items representing your favorite things. Well, the funny thing is, everything Heather sent me is stuff I love, too!

She likes movies, because she sent me a microwave popcorn tub from Blockbuster that was also full of candy, plus some more microwave popcorn and some cute plastic popcorn boxes that look like the kind you get at a state fair. And (this one made me gasp) a $10 Blockbuster Gift Card!!!! I'm a big, big movie fan, too!

I guess that Heather likes cherries, because I got a cute pink cylindrical box with cherry bath gel, 2 puffies (what do you call those, really?) and some cherry lip balm. I love cherries, too!

Oh, man, I know I'm going to forget something! My box runneth over...

Heather loves to scrapbook, and so do I. My box included a white basket lined with a great white, red and black fabric full of scrapping and cardmaking supplies! Can you see the little 3-D popcorn embellishment by Jolee's? It's just too cute!

Heather's also into containers, as you can tell by the nice way everything was packed in either a basket or a box. Me...the first thing I check out at garage sales is containers. I can't resist a pretty basket or tin!

I haven't done a swap in ages, and I'm so glad I joined this one. I want to thank Kelly for doing this. It isn't easy to host a swap...especially one with a lot of participants!

And thanks to Heather for making my day yesterday!

Milk ain't frugal no more

I just got back from the grocery, where I almost fell over to see the price of a gallon of milk:

$4.60!!!!!

Are they kidding? I heard that the corn that used to feed the cows is now being used to make fuel. So, what happens to the poor cows? Do they go hungry? Do they live on hay?

Dang, but nuclear power is looking better and better. (This is not a political blog, so I'm not looking to start anything. I don't know enough about cows, nuclear power or corn for fuel. I just want a gallon of milk to cost less than wine.)

Guess we won't be eating much cereal here from now on.

I do have to point out, though, that Target has been consistently cheaper than anyone else for milk, sometimes by nearly a dollar. I hope that is still true!

And I use a non-dairy creamer in my coffee, thank goodness!

But will the price go down so I can enjoy hot cocoa in the fall and winter???????

Inside-Out Potato and Egg Salad

I love potato and egg salad. And I love deviled eggs. So I start thinking...hmmmmm...

There is no recipe here. Just do it by 'feel,' or 'to taste.'

For 2 of these, you need 2 eggs and one small cooked potato. I had them from a bigger batch I made for potato and egg salad.

Peel the eggs and the potato. Wash off the eggs to be sure there are no little pieces of shell--ick!

Cut the egg in half lengthwise and put the yolk in a bowl with the potato. Smash it all up. Now, add whatever you would normally put in a deviled egg or potato and egg salad. There is nothing carved in stone here. Me, I like mustard, a bit of vinegar, a pinch of sugar (yes, sugar!), dill weed, salt and mayonnaise. You will need a little extra of either the vinegar or the mayo because the potato makes the filling more dense. Just add a tiny bit at a time until you get a consistency you like.

Now, I'm thinking...because the filling is so thick, this might be a good lunchbox version of a deviled egg. You could press two halves together and wrap them in plastic wrap. They'd be less likely to 'run' all over the place.

I hope you like my little recipe invention!